Through the Wind and Shadows
by DragonsWillFly
Summary: This is set after 'To Forgive, Divine,' Hermione decides that even though dead a letter from Bellatrix is not enough to answer her questions that the letter has created.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note: This story is something that has been sitting in the back of my head ever since I wrote the one-shot 'To Forgive, Divine.' The story will not really make sense if you have not read the one-shot. Sorry if the prologue seems a bit out of sorts... I was a psychology major, so I loved dealing with more of the existential questions to life and society!**_

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_'To believe in something that others do not, does not make you the outsider- it only means that you think for yourself, not for others.' _

Have you ever felt the preconceived notions of life were not all that they are cracked up to be? That all your thoughts and feelings of how things are supposed to be, are nothing more than the lock on the gilded cage that rob you of your very existence? That if you looked beyond it, the lines of the society deemed 'normal' reality would blur and you will stumble onto something far greater than you even imagined? If you just let go and see the truth for what it is, everything will fall into place; allowing you to see what truly is the reality of your subconscious, not something that the world made you see.

To come to the realisation that the person sitting next to you is the villain and the person who is considered the bane upon civilised society is actually not only your friend but also your saviour would give anyone pause. But when you see the world without the rose-tinted glasses that had been handed to you before you were born gives you reason to speculate everything that passes in your vicinity.

Everything that was ever taught to you about how the world works has been set on tilt and has slid across the chessboard of conformity and everything looks the way it must have looked to Alice, once she stepped through the looking-glass.

Opposite, yet the same. Ever moving, yet staying perfectly still. What appears to everyone as the death of the most vicious person on the face of the earth, to you now has become equivalent to having your heart ripped out of your chest. It is confusing to say the least, but when has anything ever been easy for you. The more insane the plan, the more poetic it sounds to your heart that has just recently been set aflame. It has to be perfect, otherwise it will all be for not.

No one has to know... you have kept the letter hidden even when they asked why you are acting so different. Even the Headmaster doesn't question your change in behaviour anymore. Your lack of determination in excelling in everything you touch has become more noticeable but no one would dare question you. They all believe you are still struggling over the fact that many had died, months before, and that you lived. Let them think that, it will only make everything easier when you disappear from their radar. You have become nothing more than background scenery for their main attraction- The Golden Boys. They will all know you were never the witch to fuck with, they will know that you- the brainy, know-it-all, is tired of their shit and will learn that even the Golden Girl has her side that no one should question. Even if it goes against their whole way of thinking. Bringing back the second-in-command to the most evil wizard in the world, will seem to them like a step backwards; but to you it is something that has to be done. You need this for your own sanity, not for their approval. You yearn for the truth... you need the truth to survive. If they can not understand that, then why should you care?


	2. Storm on the Horizon

_**Author's Note: Wow... I didn't realise that the prologue would have had that kind of response! **__**To Berserkeroo and ts morrighan, I hope the first chapter doesn't disappoint! I have started writing the second chapter (which strangely enough was the actual start of something else entirely that I was working on but I was never able to keep my mind off of Hermione and Bellatrix to turn it into an actual story that wasn't a fanfic!) **__**And to TaintedFlare: I hope this is a soon enough update!**_

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Everything that she had ever known has become a lie. Sure, the war happened... people died. But, does she feel better now that they had defeated the dark side? The answer was always a resounding 'No' when Hermione voiced that question in her head. Granted, she did feel relief when it was over. The brunette could finally fall asleep without the constant fear of Snatchers grabbing her in the middle of the night, but there was always something that gnawed at her in the pit of her stomach. Almost like there was something missing in her life that she could not quite place her finger on. She always surmounted the feeling by numbing it down by calling it survivor's guilt. It happens all the time... look at muggle history and point to any bit of literature based off of a survivor of any war, they always feel some sort of blame. They lived to tell their tale, while others weren't so fortunate. Yes, that is what she kept telling herself- _'I feel bad that so many died, while I am still here; able to go on about my life, finish school, and be with my friends and my new family.' _

Family...

It was something she had not thought about in a long time. After she erased her mother and father's memories of her, Hermione always felt a bit guilty. Having to live with the thought that her parents no longer knew anything about her made her feel like shit; but it had to be done. There was no way around it. It was the only way to protect them. In the end it was all just a stupid lie to make her feel as if she did something right by them. Her parents had died the first month they were in Australia. They were walking down the street, when a drunk driver ran the stop sign and slammed into them. Luckily, they did not suffer; the impact killed them instantly. Hermione grieved for them; but only momentarily, she had already suffered enough after she used the memory charm on them. To her it had been as if they had died last year, so her heart had already been hardened and the blow was not that surprising. What had surprised her though was that she thought that the Death-Eaters would have surely found them before something as mundane as a car crash would have harmed them. But, that was her lot in life; finding out that things were never as simple as they seemed, or that they were too simple, to the point of absurdity.

Her friends made it worse for her. They left her alone. Heading back to Hogwarts to complete her seventh year, Hermione felt as if the boys had betrayed her. While searching for the Horcruxes, they had all talked about going back to finish at Hogwarts. Saying that it would be best for all of them after such a hellish year of trying to beat death at every corner they had turned. So when it was all over and the chance to finish out their years at the beloved school, all three of them were given the chance to become Aurors. Much to Hermione's dismay, the boys practically jumped at the opportunity and begged her to join them. She refused, knowing full and well the consequences of living that sort of life.

Slowly, her life started to pick back up until she found a letter in her bag from her journeys with Ron and Harry. That bloody letter in that blasted black envelope caused the pain to resurface. Having became emotionally reserved after the silent battle that had plagued her body and soul, old feelings bubbled to the surface like a wellspring. It had scared her, at first. To think that the raven-haired witch had came close to her after her run in with her at Malfoy Manor left Hermione chilled to the bone with fear. But, the more she read on she began (in a sort of sick kind of way) to understand what the woman had felt and was going through. She had felt the same way when she found out that her crush, Ginny, had been straight all along and was just an avid Quidditch player. Seeing the red-haired witch curled up next to Harry made her feel the bile surge up in her throat, but she kept quiet and silently battled through her emotions until they were nothing more than a feeling of camaraderie for the Weasley girl. It made her, after a long debate with herself, be able to forgive the raven-haired Death-Eater of her past misdeeds.

What was the strangest thing for Hermione though, was not the understanding of Bellatrix's emotions, but the feeling of similar affections that the older witch had conveyed for the brunette within the parchment. This idea did not come to her as quickly as her forgiveness, however. It crept up on her like the shadows crawl over the land when the sun settles into the west. The ache in her heart, for the knowledge of what could have been, only grew stronger as the days passed. It wasn't until a week before Hallowmas that Hermione knew what she had to do.


	3. Into the Storm

_**Author's note: It has been quite some time since I have updated this story. As most of you probably know, I have been focused more on 'When Life Must Go On' instead of this story. The idea of this chapter came easily to me... but writing it all down was the hard part. The title comes from one of my favourite pieces of music, Into the Storm by Robert W. Smith. When I was younger, I had a chance to meet him as he was the surprise conductor at a concert band seminar I had went to. If you were ever part of concert band and you have played this particular piece, you will know why I thought of this song while I wrote this (the first few paragraphs should tip you off.)**_

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The midnight sky was heavy with clouds, threatening to drop their torrential wrath from the heavens, when a lone figure walks up onto the hillside, hands raised aloft as if to call down the fury of the approaching storm itself. "Bandia mháthair, a thabhairt ar mo ghrá ar ais!" The winds howled, carrying the cloaked figure's voice to furtherest reaches of the glen. The echo of the words seemed to cause a tear in the clouds, by way of lightning, causing the clouds to give up and flood the ground with their burden. Lowering their hands to their side, the mysterious person treads carefully through the rain soaked grass and disappears as quickly as they had appeared.

The winds die down cryptically, causing an eerie silence to pervade on what used to be din. Out of the silence comes a rumbling from the very depths of the earth, causing cracks to form along the ground. Then just as suddenly as it had started the rumbling stopped. The muggles who lived within the surrounding area woke up to quite a fright as the papers and the morning news all spoke of a freak earthquake that had gripped them within its grasp.

No causalities nor property damage were reported, however; the only thing that seemed to have the most damage was a cemetery that was well outside the city limits. The cemetery was hardly ever used, so there was no caretaker on the property when the earthquake had struck. And strangely enough the only grave that was damage was a fairly new edition to the site but no one knew who was buried there for there was no name upon the cold hard marble. At least, the muggles never knew.

_**The Daily Prophet**_

_**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's Second-in-Command's Grave **_

_**Found Blasted Open. Work of Death-Eaters Still At Large?**_

Aurors raced to the scene early this morning, when reports of a strange magical disturbance occurring at Hopewell Cemetery came through to their offices. Though it is not clear what may have caused this, the Minister of Magic is doing his best to find out the source.

"We are trying everything within our power to find out who is behind this and why. I have my top Aurors on this and I am confident that they will bring those responsible in for the justice they so rightfully deserve. We advise anyone within the magical community to contact us with any information they may have in regards to this act. I would also like to put everyone's mind at ease, by saying that there is no cause for alarm, for there is absolutely no reason for distress."

This speech was given by Kingsley Shacklebolt, when Aurors had determined that it was in fact Ms. Lestrange's grave that had been violated.

No other reports have been given at this time, but we at The Daily Prophet have been assured that it is probably nothing more than teenage vandals that have come of age and wanted to test their magic without fear of being found out.

(cont. page 6)

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Hermione smirks to herself as she throws the paper in the bin. Her plan had worked. The brunette had some doubt in her mind that the pagan rite would not have, but her uncertainty diminished when she felt the elements bend to her power causing her to feel confident in the method she chose to bring back the woman who had once been her torturer now turned object of affection.

The younger witch smiles to herself as she thinks back to when her feelings for this woman had possibly ever been desire and not fear. True, if she had never received the letter in the first place, she would have never even thought to think on the other witch as she had. But as the days and months passed she knew that there was something that started that spark. A little ember of desire lodged in the back of her heart. That only came to the surface once she really allowed herself to truly see reason within her emotions, trusting that instinct would be better to follow than logic.

The first instance that came to mind, was the first time she met the raven-haired witch. At first sight of her unruly black hair cascading down her back contrasting perfectly with her porcelain skin and her beautiful luscious red lips, Hermione knew who she was right then. The brunette had felt her breath catch in her throat at the mere sight of the woman. The more the younger witch thought on it the more she realised that it was not fear she had felt the first night she had seen Bellatrix it was lust. _'Why didn't I notice it before? True, both emotions seem to have somewhat of the same side-effects... shortness of breath, elevated heart rate, and of course constant thoughts of the person invading your mind... no matter what you are doing.' _

There was no doubt about it. The 'Golden Girl' of the 'Golden Trio' had been quite taken with Voldemort's second. The only thing to do now, was to find the witch who had stolen the brunette's heart.

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_**AN2: I forgot to mention in the first author's note that the words that Hermione had spoken in the first paragraph were in Irish Gaelic. The loose translation is- "Mother Goddess, please bring my love back to me." Also, I didn't want to go into detail with the whole rite that Hermione had performed just simply because I had taken bits and pieces of information from several pagan religions as well as information from the Necronomican as reference. Hope you lot enjoyed the chapter!**_


	4. Edge of Reality

_**Author's Note: This is the last chapter of this story... I know it seems a bit odd to only have a prologue and three chapters, but there is nothing more that I feel can be said for it. Hearts lain bare for both to see... that was what both one-shots' and this story's purposes were. I hope that you all enjoy the final chapter. And fret not, for I am still working diligently on 'When Life Must Go On' as well as a couple of other things that will be reveal later.**_

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"_**When life seems its most surreal, that is when it is actually real."**_

A loud sound of someone taking a deep gasp of breath, is all that is heard throughout the large cavernous amphitheatre as Bellatrix awakens with a start. She remembers vaguely how she got to where she was now after she had woke up in a seemingly freshly dug grave. Clawing her way up and out of the two metre hole, the raven-haired witch's hands fell upon two things when she reached the wet grass above her. Her wand and a river stone. The river stone was actually a port key and had whisked her away to the ancient-looking coliseum that Bellatrix was currently lying on the floor of. Standing up on shaky legs, the raven-haired witch takes in her surroundings. _'Where in bloody hell am I? And why did I first wake up in a freshly dug grave?' _The witch thought to herself as she stared at the rows of benches that were crafted out of the stone edifice they were set in.

Walking around the structure, Bellatrix could hear the faint drip drop of water falling from somewhere in the corridor that was on the left-hand side of the amphitheatre. _'I must be underground somewhere. But why am I here?' _Suddenly her mind is filled with images of the Battle of Hogwarts, causing the witch to drop to her knees with the pain of everything that had transpired. The last thing she remembered was seeing her own death and memories of two witches that had been haunting her mind for years. Lily and the newest one that had became the object of her affection, Hermione Granger. _'Bloody hell... how did I come back? That insufferable Weasel bitch killed me, but here I am in who knows where... Is this hell? I would have thought it a bit more hotter than this. At least that is what they say.' _She stops at looks at the statues and etchings in the walls that have become more prominent the further she had went inside the hall. _'Snakes? If I didn't know any better I would think this is a atrium dedicated to Salazar Slytherin.'_

"You guessed right Bellatrix... This is where Harry fought the basilisk in our second year. Also known as the Chamber of Secrets." A voice says from behind Bellatrix causing her to turn swiftly with her wand at the ready. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just couldn't help speaking after seeing you so enthralled in the statues. I wanted your full attention."

"Hermione... why are you here? And why am I still alive? How did any of this happen?" The older witch fires off question after question, all the while trying to still her heart that was thundering within her chest.

"Your letter is what happened."

"My letter?" Bellatrix asks, when suddenly a look of understanding crossed her face. She remembers telling her house-elf, Mala, if anything happened to her to discreetly give Hermione Granger a black envelope. _'I guess she did as she was told.' _The older woman thought to herself.

"Merlin, if I had known before... I would have found a way to save you, but I didn't know. It wasn't until I had found it stuffed in my beaded bag..." Hermione walks closer to the raven-haired woman. "I know you said you didn't expect forgiveness, but I just had to see you. It... It tore my heart, to read that bit of parchment. I should hate you for what feelings you unleashed with in me. I should hate you for what I have done to be able to see you again, but I don't. No matter what you did, I could never truly hate you. Even before the letter... I... I had felt something for you the first time I had set eyes on you." The younger witch moves closer still her eyes never breaking contact from Bella's.

"You brought me back..." The raven-haired woman whispers. "How did you do that? There are very few types of magic left now that could bring me back and all are considered dark arts."

"It was a pagan rite I used... I know it sounds completely mental, but I just had to... with what I know now, I could not leave things as they were." The brunette finally reaches out her hand to touch stray dark curl that had settled itself over the older witch's eye.

Bellatrix allows Hermione to touch the stray curl and almost leans into the touch itself. "Why did you bring me here... to Hogwarts? They will send me to Azkaban, if they find me here. Or worse, they will kill me. I don't want you to have gone to all this trouble just to have me leave again." The older witch slowly takes the brunette's hand in her own, feeling the warmth of the younger woman's hand in her own made her close her eyes just to stable the beating of her heart. When she opens her eyes, she sees the concern and fear of being left alone in Hermione's eyes. Bellatrix wanted to keep the other witch from ever feeling the pain she had felt before in her own life but she knew that it was a very dangerous game that they were playing now. "You know they will come after you too, if they ever found out you are harbouring me. They will also realise you were the one who brought me back if any of this is found out." Dropping Hermione's hand, the older witch turns around to face the large antechamber in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she listens to the constant drip-drop of water from the ceiling. Its melody calming her ever racing heart. Before she even realised she thought the sentence, it had escaped her throat. Leaving her soul feeling a little more torn than before. "You shouldn't have brought me back, Hermione."

"I shouldn't have brought you back? Were you listening to a bloody word I was saying earlier?" Hermione place her hand on the raven-haired witch's shoulder and spins her around. "I didn't have to bring you back... I wanted... Needed to bring you back. There wasn't a day that passed since I found that letter that I haven't thought of you. Hell, even before the letter you were constantly there. In my thoughts. In my dreams. I first thought it was because I was terrified of you. But now the more I look back at it all, it wasn't because I feared you. It was because I needed you. You... Bellatrix Lestrange, have made me feel more alive than I have ever felt in my life." Hermione pauses for a few moments, allowing the older witch to say something. Anything. When she didn't, the brunette continued. "Do you know you were the first person to ever see the potential in me? It was at Malfoy Manor, when we were brought in by the Snatchers. You had took one look at Harry and noticed he had been jinxed. You wanted to check my wand to see what my last spell was. You had known it was me the whole time. Others tend to act like I don't exist when Harry is around. All they would see is the know-it-all that followed in the shadow of the Boy-Who-Lived. Not you. You saw past that. You saw me... and I saw you. For who you were not for who they made you to be. A life most unkind exudes strongly from everything you do, but I know that was from them. Their creation. You... are what I saw, what I have been reminded of everyday since you had left. The spark, that lights in your eyes when you think of something brilliant. Your loyalty. Your determination. Things that others had despised you for, I admire in you."

Bellatrix stands, eyes downcast, in front of Hermione still. Even after the younger witch finished her speech, the older woman was at a lost for words. Never had anyone spoke so passionately about her since the last time she had been with Lily. She felt the fires, that once laid forgotten in her heart, stoke to roaring flames by the fervent words Hermione had spoken. When she finally looked up at the beautiful brunette that had haunted every corner of her mind ever since she had laid eyes on her in the Department of Mysteries, Bellatrix had a smile on her face. Lifting her hand to caress Hermione's cheek, the raven-haired witch finally speaks. "Where would we go?"

The brunette leans into the caress, reaching her hand to cover the other woman's. "Any where your heart desires."


End file.
